Seaports along the East Coast of the U.S. are preparing for another banner year in 2007. Unlike some of the issues that have plagued major West Coast ports in recent years with the influx of Asian imports, ports all along the eastern seaboard are chomping at the bit to get in on the action.

One of the biggest advantages for most East Coast ports is their access to land, which makes expansion considerably easier. But even at the densely developed Port of New York/New Jersey (www.panynj.com), creative solutions are helping to position them to take on more cargo and move it expeditiously.

Working smarter, not harder

Three new intermodal rail projects will be completed at the port complex of NY/NJ this year, including the opening of on-dock ExpressRail at New York Container Terminal. The port is also working to deepen its channels to accommodate larger vessels.

Patrick Flinn, General Manager of Planning and Project Development for the port complex, says the industrial development plan called the Portfields Inititative is a complement to these various programs. The Portfields Initiative, which is also supported by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, provides opportunities for private developers, communities, and others to transform underutilized and brownfield sites into productive warehousing and distribution centers. In turn, these centers will support and capitalize upon emerging market opportunities for new ocean and air freight-related warehousing and distribution operations.

Of the original 17 sites identified under the Portfields Initiative, “most are currently under development or are in the entitlement stage,” explains Flinn. And, interest is growing, he says. “We’re trying to meet the demand from developers and users who are looking for large sites near the port.”

Most of the sites are within 12 miles of the port, although one is about 20 miles away. “Part of the Portfields Initiative was to try and have this urban ‘in-fill’ development and also reduce truck traffic and congestion on the roads, so obviously we were looking for sites that had good access or were close to the port.” In recent years, development has been extending further south and even west into Pennsylvania, he says. In response, “there was a concerted effort to keep the cargo and the jobs in New Jersey, as well as within close proximity to the port.”

In addition to being close to the port, the facilites in the Portfields Initiative program are being designed to offer the growing logistics market high-value, high-velocity (cross-dock) distribution centers to meet their needs. “Large, modern distribution centers in the Port District are at a premium,” according to one supply chain consultant. “Larger retailers are especially strapped for finding Northeast regional locations large enough to accommodate a building greater than 500,000 square feet, and many want the sites to be expandable, often up to two- or three-fold. Fuel costs continue to shrink the viable options [further afield].”

Jules Nissim, senior director for Cushman & Wakefield in East Rutherford, New Jersey, says: “The second- and third-generation and multistory facilities that once served, and continue to serve, the region do not fulfill many of today’s sophisticated requirements. In order to offer value-added services, logistics tenants are seeking state-of-the-art facilities that contribute toward a more efficient supply chain.”

The importance of advanced planning can’t be overemphasized, especially when you’re talking about the projections for increased cargo volumes at East Coast ports. While estimations vary, everyone agrees that growth in all-water service, whether it comes from the Panama Canal, Suez Canal, or both, is a reality. And again, while land constraints may not be paramount like they are for West Coast ports, that won’t be the case forever, reminds John Rosen, Director of Product Marketing for WhereNet (www.wherenet.com), a leading provider of wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets. Although most of WhereNet’s customers are on the West Coast (the company’s products are in use at 13 marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach), the company has been working to expand its customer base along the East Coast.

“We have a system that provides much better information on activity and inventory inside the marine terminal,” says Rosen, referring to the Real Time Location System (RTLS) technology that WhereNet has installed at marine terminals and transloading facilities. The technology, which uses active RFID or WiFi-enabled tags to track the location of assets in real time, is expected to command a $1.26 billion market by 2011, up from the $200 million marketshare in 2004.

The ability to operate more efficiently in the marine terminal is key, especially with the advent of 10,000-TEU vessels. “These large vessels create huge spikes-freight’s not distributed nice and evenly throughout the workweek,” explains Rosen. “Terminals are being forced to stack containers higher, yet current manual processes don’t support that. When a worker is standing between stacks of containers four and five high, he can’t read the container numbers at the top. It also requires more ‘dig’ moves from your terminal handling equipment, which is very non-productive. Ultimately, the goal is to ‘go higher’ and move more freight, not less.”

Rosen is confident that once the first ‘early adopter’ on the East Coast successfully deploys the system, soon afterwards everyone else will jump on the bandwagon. He’s hosted plenty of marine terminal executives at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach who are interested in seeing the WhereNet system in action. “We show them that it does work and it can survive the environment-those are the two biggest concerns. When you install hardware on container handling equipment, it’s got to be able to withstand extremely rugged and difficult working conditions.”

Interest in WhereNet’s systems is spreading to other players in the supply chain, namely railroads. “If we help double the throughput for containers at the port of Los Angeles-Long Beach, it doesn’t mean anything if the railroads can’t handle it,” says Rosen. Indeed, “the next frontier is the inland infrastructure,” he says. “Railroads are poised for dramatic changed…they’re going to have to improve throughput too. You can buy more land, sure, but the better option is to start stacking cargo. And, once railroads start stacking cargo, they’re going to begin acting a lot more like marine terminals.”

Virginia Ports looks inland

Eighteen years ago when the Virginia Inland Port (VIP) was established, hardly anyone was thinking about rising cargo volumes from China. In fact, the facility was created to capture traffic that was going to competing ports in the northeast, particularly Baltimore, New York-New Jersey, and even Philadelphia, notes Joe Harris, Media Relations Manager for VIP.

The first few years were a bit tough. “Our first year, we handled 3,000 containers,” says Harris. “But last year, we handled over 30,000 containers,” which also equates to 30,000 less truck trips on surrounding roads. The facility, which is located about 200 miles inland from the Virginia Ports (www.vaports.com) complex of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News, allows truckers to drop off and pickup loads and get back on the highway quickly. Norfolk Southern Railway (www.nscorp.com) runs daily trains to/from the port, which saves a lot of short-haul truck moves in the port vacinity. The facility features 17,820 feet of on-site rail and located within one mile of Interstate 66 and within 5 miles of Interstate 81. It is also a U.S. Customs-designated port and entry.

Over the years, the VIP facility has attracted considerable business, particularly as a site for distribution centers. Retailers Home Depot and Family Dollar Stores moved into the area in the mid-1990s, and others such as DuPont, Rite Aid, SYSCO, and Kohl’s have followed, says Harris. Today, the facility boasts 24 major companies with facilities in the area. “Land was very inexpensive and they found a very favorable economic development climate. Since it’s opened, the facility has garnered over $600 million in investment and construction has been in excess of 6 million square feet. The labor force has also increased by some 7,000 people.”